Littleproud dismisses ‘hypothetical’ of One Nation joining Coalition
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, says he won’t engage in “hypotheticals” about a potential mega-coalition with One Nation, as Pauline Hanson has suggested.
Jumping back to that interview on Sky News earlier, Littleproud said One Nation was a “threat” to the National party which they have to take seriously.
The latest Essential poll for the Guardian found 23% of respondents who voted for the Coalition in 2025 now intend to support One Nation.
Littleproud said:
I don’t work in hypotheticals that will be two years down the track … I don’t intend to engage in running commentary on because all it does is add to the mystique and to the hyperbole of Canberra.
Anyone that runs against the National party is a threat to the National party. We take them seriously.
Key events
Trade on essential raw materials are ‘existential question’, German foreign minister says.
The German foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, said in translated comments regarding trade between Australia and Europe that closer cooperation on raw materials, such as rare metals is a question of economic security.
It contributes our prosperity and maintaining security in Europe, and also in the region here. And I think that this is an existential question for the future. We must diversify our supply chains, and we must cooperate closely as possible. We create new international corporations, and have to do so flexibly.
These mechanisms have to be reliable for all parts involved, and of that will require a certain financial investment, because of sourcing these raw materials is related to a significant we know that German industry in particular relies on these raw materials, and so I this is a large field for particularly close cooperation between Australia and Germany.
He said negotiations around the agricultural sector have been challenging but it was not surprising. Germany was committed to free trade, he said.
The Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, said Australia was hopeful of a conclusion of an EU-Australia free trade agreement in the near future.
On China, she said the country is a very important trading partner, and stabilising the relationship between Australia and China has meant navigating the differences of views and national interests.
We describe it as cooperate where we can, disagree where we must and engage for the national interest, we have approached it, and I wouldn’t propose ever to give Germany advice about how to behave diplomatically.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, is holding a press conference with the German foreign minister, Johann Wadephul.
Wong was asked again about the visit of Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, and calls from the former human rights commissioner, Chris Sidoti for Herzog to be arrested. Wong repeated her earlier comments that Herzog is visiting Australia to support the Jewish community in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
Wadephul said in translated comments that Germany, for historical reasons, has a “consistent responsibility for Germany that we feel beholden to and of course we also feel beholden to international law”.
Number of young Australians with dementia to soar
More than a million Australians are projected to develop dementia in the next four decades, with the number of early onset cases expected to soar, advocates say.
AAP reports data released on Thursday reveals people living with young onset dementia, when the syndrome is diagnosed before the age of 65, will rise by 40% over the next 30 years.
Dementia Australia chief executive, Tanya Buchanan, said action is needed immediately, which can start by significant intervention.
There is a critical demand for a national program to promote brain health throughout our lives as well as a pressing need to provide quality care and support services for people of all ages living with dementia, their families and carers.
Dementia is the nation’s leading cause of death, accounting for 9.4% of all deaths in 2024.
More than 17,000 people died from dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, during that period, with 62% of dementia-related deaths being women, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The ABS believes the increase of dementia deaths was likely due to people living longer, which raises the chances of developing dementia towards the end of their lives.
Data released by Dementia Australia shows that about 446,000 people are living with dementia, a figure projected to surpass one million by 2065.
Buchanan said essential investment is needed from the federal government in implementing the 10-year National Dementia Action Plan, which was unveiled in 2024.
Students for Palestine say no amount of ‘brow beating’ will stop march against Herzog visit
Students for Palestine says “no amount of brow beating” will stop them from marching in opposition to Israeli president, Isaac Herzog’s, visit on Monday.
Responding to foreign minister Penny Wong’s call for the public to remember the context of the visit, in providing support to the Jewish community affected by the Bondi terror attack, the group said the context was much wider.
Jasmine Duff, the national convener of Students for Palestine, said the group will be present at marches in 26 cities and towns across Australia.
Penny Wong has asked us to consider the context. The context for this visit by Israel’s president is an active genocide in Gaza. The context is parents being handed bags of their children’s obliterated bodies based on “approximate weight”. The context is entire family lines erased forever, hospitals and schools deliberately bombed … We will march in 26 cities and towns on Monday evening, and no amount of brow beating will stop us.
Josh Taylor
eSafety commissioner fires back over Snap’s attempt to escape under-16s ban
The Australian Financial Review reported that Snap executives last year offered to strip some of the more social aspects of Snapchat for under-16s users in order to escape the under-16s social media ban, but this was rejected by eSafety.
The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, told Guardian Australia in assessing each platform, there was a significant purpose test and Snapchat was assessed to be a social media app. The company has argued it is primarily a messaging app.
Inman Grant confirmed she was asked if features like Snap maps, Snap streaks, stories and other features could be stripped out, and said she told them “I can’t assess a hypothetical service”.
Inman Grant said she viewed that it would not have been the intent of the parliament to allow young people to be moved over to a new, stripped-down service.
She said:
We had that conversation and I said: ‘if you decide to take that course and develop it, an alternative service, we will assess that separately.’
And then when it came down to the self assessment process, they made some determination, that that wasn’t feasible. And so they just argued that they were messaging platform and I said I don’t agree based on the totality of features.
Snapchat this week announced 415,000 accounts had been locked or disabled since the ban came into effect in December last year, but warned of gaps in the law, including the technology used and other apps available to teens, that potentially undermines the ban.
Littleproud dismisses ‘hypothetical’ of One Nation joining Coalition
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, says he won’t engage in “hypotheticals” about a potential mega-coalition with One Nation, as Pauline Hanson has suggested.
Jumping back to that interview on Sky News earlier, Littleproud said One Nation was a “threat” to the National party which they have to take seriously.
The latest Essential poll for the Guardian found 23% of respondents who voted for the Coalition in 2025 now intend to support One Nation.
Littleproud said:
I don’t work in hypotheticals that will be two years down the track … I don’t intend to engage in running commentary on because all it does is add to the mystique and to the hyperbole of Canberra.
Anyone that runs against the National party is a threat to the National party. We take them seriously.
Pauline Hanson says One Nation would join Liberals and Nationals in coalition
Pauline Hanson says joining the Liberals and Nationals in a Coalition would be “the only way to move forward” to form a future government.
Hanson told Sky News last night she would be open to giving the Coalition “supply” but wouldn’t join either party in their current state.
Of course, that’s the only way to move forward, because I’m not going to be [in] government, and neither is, by the looks of it, the Coalition or the National party … I would work with them to give them supply. Would I join up to the rabble that they are at the moment? No way in the wide world, but I have my strong policies that we need.
She says the Liberal and National parties have been “picking up a lot of my policies”.
NSW backs six new big batteries in largest energy storage tender
Six new big batteries capable of storing more than 8 hours of energy have been backed by the NSW government’s electricity roadmap.
The tender is the sixth conducted and the largest so far in terms of storage capacity and number of projects.
Successful projects include the 330 megawatt (MW) 10-hour Great Western Battery in the Lithgow region, the 11.5-hour Bannaby project in the southern tablelands, and the 9.7h Bowman’s Creek project in the Hunter, along with others in Armidale, Ebor and Kingswood.
Combined, the six projects represent 1.17 gigawatts (GW), or 11.98GWh of energy storage capacity, enough to secure the roadmap’s minimum objectives for 2GW of long-duration storage by 2030 and 28GW by 2034.
The big batteries are due to be completed by 2030, and are subject to planning approval.
NSW now has the most battery projects in Australia, with over 200 in construction or planning.
The minister for climate change and energy, Penny Sharpe, said:
These six big batteries mean we’re on track to smash our storage targets, harvesting the sun and wind, so we can power NSW around the clock and put downward pressure on prices.
Greens slam Labor’s response to parliamentary inquiry into consultants
Greens senator Barbara Pocock says the government’s response to a parliamentary inquiry into consultancies “woefully inadequate”
Pocock who alongside Labor senator Deborah O’Neil grilled consultancy executives at an explosive inquiry, says their committee found “discovered a tidal wave of malpractice, poor governance and structural failures.” The inquiry was triggered by allegations PwC Australia used its role as a government adviser to obtain confidential information to help its international clients avoid tax.
The government responded to one of two inquiries into consultancy firms on Monday, and just “noted” all 40 of its recommendations. It accepted none.
The multi-partisan inquiry report recommended slashing partner numbers at the big four consulting firms to 400 equity partners and separate the audit and non-audit practices.
Pocock said:
The government’s response fobs off our report with baby steps that don’t meet the scale of this crisis. So much of the Parliament’s time and resources have been spent uncovering unethical behaviour in the consultancy sector. The government was provided with clear recommendations for cleaning up the sector but instead of agreeing to them, Labor continues to greenlight unethical contractors.
Hanson returns to the Senate after suspension
Pauline Hanson is back, after serving a seven sitting day suspension over her burqa stunt in the Senate.
The One Nation leader, who missed the two extra sitting days to debate the hate and antisemitism bills in January, returned this morning.
As she and her One Nation colleagues have been doing, they turned their backs on the Senate President as she read out an acknowledgment of country.
‘I didn’t come to Canberra to roll over and have my tummy tickled’: Littleproud
Despite members of what is now the former Coalition, telling each other to focus on Labor and not talk about themselves, they can’t seem to stop.
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, is back on the TV today talking to Sky News and again focuses on the sticky issue of shadow cabinet solidarity (that prevents shadow ministers from being able to cross the floor of parliament).
While negotiations continue, Littleproud digs in to say that the joint party room process wasn’t followed during the hate speech laws debate, which led to the former shadow ministers crossing the floor.
I don’t intend to let the National Party become a factional Liberal Party … We’ve used the machinery of the Coalition to be able to debate that in forums within the Coalition, like the joint party room, to be able to get to a final position. And that’s that’s what served us well in the past, and that wasn’t afforded to us in this particular case, and that’s why we had every right to do what we do, to stand up for our belief and to do that, and we were respectful of the Liberal party if they had a different view. But when proper process wasn’t afforded, what were we to do? … I didn’t come to Canberra to roll over and have my tummy tickled.
So, why then, if the Nationals claim they did nothing wrong, did they hand in their resignations. Littleproud says the letters were sent “out of respect” to Ley, but came with a fourth letter that said they didn’t believe they had breached shadow cabinet solidarity and that if Ley accepted the three resignations all the Nationals frontbenchers would leave.
Benita Kolovos
Continuing from our last post …
The new planning laws create three new planning streams to reduce permit approval times 10 days for stand-alone houses and duplexes, 30 for townhouses and low-rise developments, and 60 for larger developments.
Third-party appeal rights – which allow anyone to object to a planning permit – for homes, duplexes, townhouses and low-rise apartment streams will be scrapped and for higher density apartments, only those who are directly affected – such as neighbours – will be able to appeal.
The government has said this would replace the existing “one-size-fits-all system”, where almost all projects go through the same planning process, regardless of their complexity.
After the bill passed parliament, the planning minister, Sonya Kilkenny, lashed the opposition for not supporting the bill. She said:
Despite [opposition leader] Jess Wilson and the Liberals’ best attempts, today parliament passed the biggest planning overhaul in decades – reforms that will deliver more homes for young people near transport, jobs and services. If Jess Wilson was serious about housing, she would have backed our reforms – just like industry have. Instead, she voted to cut the reforms, cut the homes they’ll deliver, and cut millennials out of the market.
Here’s a story we wrote last month on the Victorian government’s housing revolution:
Benita Kolovos
Vic planning laws pass with new ‘head of power’ to mandate affordable housing in new developments
The Victorian government’s overhaul of the state’s “old-fashioned nimby” planning act has passed parliament overnight, with the support of the Greens, who successfully amended the laws to mandate affordable house in new developments.
The Greens amendment creates a “head of power” to legally mandate property developers to include a portion of affordable housing in big projects fast-tracked by government.
The Greens spokesperson for planning, upper house MP Sarah Mansfield, says the amendment will mean Labor has “no excuse to give property developers special treatment”:
Private property developers aren’t thinking about affordability, they’re thinking about profit and for too long, Labor’s given them all the power over what gets built. Now the only thing stopping new developments from including public, community and affordable housing is Labor.
The threshold, operation and application of the “head of power” is yet to be determined and will be confirmed after consultation with the property industry, local government and community, the government said.
Marles dismisses US congressional report on Aukus submarines
Defence minister and deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, has dismissed the findings of a report by the US Congressional Research Service, Congress’s policy research arm, which openly contemplates not selling any nuclear submarines to Australia – as promised under the Aukus agreement – because America wants to retain control of the submarines for a potential conflict with China over Taiwan.
Asked about the report, published by Guardian Australia, Marles says there will be “a whole lot of commentary” on Aukus, and adds that Aukus defence ministers met in Washington in December.
Marles said:
You’re going to hear a whole lot of commentary at the end of the day. We’re working with the US administration, and we’ve heard the United States president make clear the position of the United States in respect of this question, and he has said that we are full steam ahead in respect of this and it includes the transfer of the Virginia [class submarines].
Marles was also asked about a separate Guardian investigation finding Israeli forces have bulldozed part of a Gaza cemetery containing the war graves of dozens of British, Australian and other allied soldiers killed in the first and second world wars.
The deputy prime minister said, “I’m actually not aware of that report”.